Shoe tongue having lacing means



Jan. 24, 1967 M. M. MERRITT SHOE TONGUE HAVING LACING MEANS Filed Sept. 21, 1964 INVENTOR/ "mow M. NERQTI ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,299,543 SHOE TONGUE HAVING 'LACING MEANS Marion M. Merritt, 744 Foch Ave., Toronto 14, Ontario, Canada Filed Sept. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 397,937 3 Claims. (Cl. 3654) This invention relates to footwear and more specifically to a novel tongue construction for and method of lacing shoes, boots and the like.

One of the major problems faced in the manufacture of footwear, especially in mass production, lies in attaching the tongue to the upper in such a manner as to preclude side-slipping or creep. As is well known, a shoe in which the tongue slides over to one side or creeps down the foot forming ridges, is most uncomfortable and annoying. In childrens boots and shoes, the problem may well have serious consequences with respect to the correct development of the childs foot.

A second problem, more prevalent in boot construction but also present to a degree in shoes is the tendency for the rear or heel section of the upper to sag. Such sagging means that the boot or shoe fails to provide the promised and necessary support and this, again, can lead to serious consequences.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple and economic solution to both these problems in current footwear constructions.

The solution resides in forming a group of eyelets in the tongue element and in passing the usual shoe laces through these eyelets prior to threading said laces through the last or topmost eyelets in the conventional upper eyelets of the shoe or boot.

In the past it has been proposed to utilize the tongue in some manner or another to assist in lacing a boot or shoe, but heretofore, such structures have been expensive and inadequate.

Possibly the earliest attempt was made with respect to the old button-boots which, of course, are now no longer used. Another proposal showed a tongue element stitched to the upper at the bottom and along one side edge and having eyelets down the free edge for lacing to an auxilliary inner flap stitched to the upper. This construct-ion was extremely expensive and unless great care was taken in manufacture, proved uncomfortable.

The present invention in no way changes the basic structure of current footwear and does not effect current styles as the expedient is all but invisible when the shoe or boot is laced.

Further objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the detailed description hereinbelow taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the top portion of a tongue element showing a group of eyelets therein.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing, in part, a tongue in combination with the uppers of a boot and the method of lacing.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the tongue taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

In the drawings, and with particular reference to FIG- URE 2, numeral generally designates an article of footwear having a tongue 11 and a plurality of conventional spaced pairs of eyelets 12.

The tongue 11 is provided in the free top portion thereof with a group of eyelets 13, 14, and 16. Eyelets 13 and 14 form one pair and eyelets 15 and 16 form a second pair, said pairs being symmetrically disposed about the centre-line of the tongue as shown in FIG- URE 1.

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It will be noted that in the embodiment shown, each pair of eyelets has a'top outer eyelet and a lower inner eyelet.

In order to preclude the possibility of the tongue eyelets pressing into a wearers foot the eyelets are set in the tongue in recessed relation to the usual tongue lining 17, this latter being of felt or like material and secured to the tongue as by stitching 18.

The eyelets 13 to 16 inclusive are set in the tongue such that the respective top outer eyelets 13 and 16, in an assembled boot or shoe, lie adjacent to and in the same horizontal plane as a selected pair of eyelets 12.

In the embodiment illustrated, eyelets 13 and 16 lie adjacent to the upper eyelets 23 and 24 respectively.

The lacing of the shoe is commenced in conventional criss-cross fashion until laces 21 and 22 have been threaded through eyelets 20 and 19. Lace 21 is then passed through tongue eyelet 14, out through eyelet 13 and finally through eyelet 23 as shown in FIGURE 2. Similarly lace 22 passes from eyelet 19, weaves through tongue eyelets 15 and 16 and passes out of eyelet 24. The laces 21 and 22 are then tied in the usual manner.

As will be appreciated, by weaving the laces through the tongue eyelets, the free top portion of the tongue is subjected to centering forces and is also maintained in fully stretched condition. With the shoe laced in this fashion the tongue, in effect, becomes an integral part of the shoe or boot upper thus making the upper more rigid and less susceptible to sagging. A wearer thus enjoys more support and more comfort than heretofore possible.

It is to be understood that the embodiment herein described is illustrative only and should not be construed in a limiting sense. Modifications and changes will undoubtedly be obvious to those persons skilled in the art upon reading this specificatfon while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention.

In some instances, such as in boots specially constructed for orthopedic purposes or in ski boots, football boots and the like, maximum support, not only for the .ankle but also for the foot in general, is imperative and such support is obtained in simple and economic fashion by including additional groups of eyelets along the length of the tongue as shown in phantom at 25 on FIGURE 1.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In footwear construction including a tongue element having a free top portion and a bottom portion attached to an upper, and a substantially compressible inner lining on said tongue element said upper including spaced pairs of lace-receiving eyelets, the improvement comprising a group of eyelets formed in the free top portion of the tongue element and recessed in relation to said substantially compressible inner lining on said tongue element. said group of eyelets including two pairs of eyelets symmetrically spaced about an axis extending through said free top portion and said bottom Portion, .an eyelet of each of said two pairs lying adjacent to and in a horizontal plane parallel to a plane containing respective eyelets of .a selected pair of said lace-receiving eyelets.

2. In footwear construction, the improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said two pairs of eyelets includes an outer eyelet formed adjacent a respective upper corner of said tongue element and an inner eyelet spaced downwardly and inwardly of said outer eyelet.

3. In footwear construction, the improvement as defined in claim 2 wherein the outer eyelets lie adjacent to,

a and in a horizontal plane parallel to a plane containing 2,139,858 12/1938 Schwartz et al. 3654 respective eyelets of a selected pair of said lace-receiving 2,357,980 9/1944 Spiro 3654 X eyelets. 2,632,260 3/1953 Herceg 3654 References Cited by the Examiner 5 FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 22,746 of 1905 Great Britain. 1,281,655 10/1918 Ransom.

2,007,157 7/1935 co kbrurm PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN FOOTWEAR CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A TONGUE ELEMENT HAVING A FREE TOP PORTION AND A BOTTOM PORTION ATTACHED TO AN UPPER, AND A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPRESSIBLE INNER LINING ON SAID TONGUE ELEMENT SAID UPPER INCLUDING SPACED PAIRS OF LACE-RECEIVING EYELETS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A GROUP OF EYELETS FORMED IN THE FREE TOP PORTION OF THE TONGUE ELEMENT AND RECESSED IN RELATION TO SAID SUBSTANTIALLY COMPRESSIBLE INNER LINING ON SAID TONGUE ELEMENT. SAID GROUP OF EYELETS INCLUDING TWO PAIRS OF EYELETS SYMMETRICALLY SPACED ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID FREE TOP PORTION AND SAID BOTTOM PORTION, AN EYELET OF EACH OF SAID TWO PAIRS LYING ADJACENT TO AND IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE PARALLEL TO A PLANE CONTAINING RESPECTIVE EYELETS OF A SELECTED PAIR OF SAID LACE-RECEIVING EYELETS. 